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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA) and its Digital Content Working Group (DCWG) welcomed the announcement of Simon & Schuster’s new pilot on library e-book licensing. “This is an exciting development. We’re delighted to see Simon & Schuster taking leadership among the largest publishers,” ALA President Sari Feldman said.

OverDrive reports that the pilot provides libraries with the additional option of a two-year lending term for 1.5 times the one-year price, or in other words, offers a 50% discount for the second year.

According to Simon & Schuster, the pilot involves a limited selection of titles (550), including a mix of frontlist and backlist. The pilot program is available to all of the company’s distributors and all U.S. libraries are eligible to participate. “We’re excited to test this new business model: we believe it will provide libraries with greater flexibility and added value in building their e-book collections,” Michelle Leo, Vice President, Director of Education & Library Marketing of Simon & Schuster, said.

The DCWG has long advocated for increased options for library licensing. “We’ve been asking for more experimentation and flexibility so this development is appreciated,” said Carolyn Anthony, Co-chair of the ALA DCWG. “It makes a lot of sense that the price would drop after year one.”

Feldman noted the importance of sustaining conversations among librarians, publishers, distributors, and authors to continue advancing our shared goals of connecting writers and readers. “We are still in the early days of the digital publishing revolution and we aspire to co-creating solutions that increase readership, and improve exposure for diverse and emerging voices,” she said. “By expanding access to quality digital content, libraries transform communities.

Certainly challenges remain, but we are encouraged with signs of progress. ALA leadership looks forward to our meeting with Simon & Schuster next month in New York.”

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 55,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.